Saul Niguez, a half-time substitute, provided the only goal at the Wanda Metropolitano when he tucked away the rebound from his initially saved penalty in the second half.

Simeone withdrew Antoine Griezmann at the interval and named key attackers Alvaro Morata and Thomas Lemar on the bench in a bid to keep them fresh for Tuesday’s Champions League clash against Juventus.

Atletico take a 2-0 advantage into the return leg of the last-16 tie and Simeone admitted his bold team selection was made with one eye on Turin.

“It’s normal,” he said. “Tuesday is an important game.

“Within what we plan, we think about the game. But we try to compensate for [the Leganes] match and win it. Take it to the place where we wanted.

“The first half started a little quiet but the second, with the entry of Saul and Lemar, gave us more speed. That allowed us to win.”